Rouge the Bat
Rouge the Bat is a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. She originally appeared as the secondary antagonist of Sonic Adventure 2 and Knuckles the Echidna's rival. After SA2, Her acts and role as a villain are mainly like Knuckles before her by stealing herself as many jewels around the Sonic universe (including Knuckles's Master Emerald) and make herself rich, even if it means working with Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. Despite this, she appears more as an anti-hero in recent games as she is usually shown to put aside her jewel-stealing obsession and assist in the greater good if need be, such as helping the resistance overthrow Eggman's rule in Sonic Forces. She is currently voiced by Karen Strassman in the English version, and Rumi Ochiai in the Japanese version. Overview Rouge the Bat is a very beautiful and world-famous treasure hunter. Her voluptuous and daring attitude turns any man's head. Her policy though is that duty comes first, but she has a big interest in jewels. Her figure, speech, and behavior masks her true identity. Rouge actually has a crush on Knuckles the Echidna, but refuses to admit it. Rouge the Bat is very secretive about everything and very little has actually ever been disclosed about her. She would often switch sides with either the good or bad to confuse them. Rouge the Bat does have allies, such as Shadow the Hedgehog and Topaz from G.U.N. (in Sonic X). It wasn't until after a few episodes that Rouge and Topaz actually became close friends. At the end of the season in which Topaz and Rouge met, Rouge and the others were transported home. While Rouge said goodbye to Topaz, Topaz had a tear in her eye, remembering all the good times they had. In Season 2, she is one of G.U.N.'s top agents. She battled against the Metarex in Season 3 with Doctor Eggman and released Shadow. She joins the good side and declared war on Eggman after Christopher Thorndyke was sent to Earth. Rouge seemingly possesses a locket belonging to Bokkun, Eggman's messenger robot. She usually pulls it out when Bokkun refuses to run errands for her, which convinces him to attend to her errands. In the Japanese version, the inside of the locket shows a picture of Cream the Rabbit, which indicates that Bokkun has a crush on her. Personality Rouge is a determined woman, who almost never listens to anyone else but herself, she does what she feels is necessary for herself and switches between good and bad quite often, sometimes she wants to steal jewelry, and at times she wants to save the world, but in all goals she has, it always comes down to what is necessary for her, making her look like an overall prideful narcissist. She can also be hypocritical, as shown when she calls the person stealing the Master Emerald a thief, when she has stolen lots of things, including the Master Emerald. Rouge is also sassy, cheeky, vivacious, and disrespectful, along with her egotistical behavior, this makes most of characters in the games dislike her, especially her archenemy Knuckles, which when she is fighting with, she often uses dirty tactics, this is because Knuckles is superior to her in terms of fighting, and this she does with other superior opponents as well. Her rivalry with Knuckles has even gone to the point where, even if Knuckles does something heroic such as saving her from dying, she will still most likely get angry at him for little to no reason. Despite all of this, she still does have a good side, she is seen multiple times actually caring for Shadow the Hedgehog, she has stopped Shadow and E-123 Omega from killing each other, has helped Shadow when he is damaged by an injury, killing the Black Bull, helping on defeating the horrible tyrant, Black Doom, and multiple times saving the world from destruction. Despite all of her heroic acts, in more recent games, she has shown that her attitude hasn't really changed much, considering in Sonic Free Riders, she is shown to be the normal disrespectful person she usually is, insulting one of her robot team members, and not even caring when the robot broke. Powers and Abilities Rouge is one of the strongest female characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Swift and powerful, Rouge has proved herself to rival that of Knuckles the Echidna. However, Rouge possesses the natural ability to achieve flight and is also able to glide by using her wings to manipulate her descend. When flying, Rouge can move as fast as Knuckles' gliding, but not as fast as Sonic or Shadow can run. Nevertheless, Rouge possesses an innate quickness, making her fast on her feet and can reach super speeds when running, though she is still not as fast as Sonic, Tails or Shadow. As both a government spy and self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Thief", Rouge has been trained in infiltration and is skilled in the art of stealth as well. As most times, however, she uses these skills to pull different kinds of successful heists, and has proven herself as a master thief. As a result of her training, Rouge can surreptitiously enter enemy-held territory, either through stealth or by manipulating others into believing that she is on their side, such as when she tricked Shadow and Dr. Eggman into believing that she was willing to help them in Sonic Adventure 2 when she was sent to investigate the doctor, and can hack computers and break codes in record time with successful results nearly every time. She is also stealthy enough to move nearly undetected through even the most fortified of locations, such as Prison Island, Dr. Eggman's various bases or Space Colony ARK and sneak up on people without bringing attention to herself. Despite her pretty looks and flirtatious attitude, Rouge is well-versed in all kinds of combat and knows how to fight, making her a dangerous foe in battle. As a spy for the United Federation, Rouge has gone through several forms of special training in self-defense and knows a variety of martial arts. Her skills in combat are so great that she was able to fight the combat-versed Knuckles the Echidna to a standstill when confronting him on Space Colony ARK. Rouge's fighting style focuses on a form of kickboxing, a style she has derived from her special combat training, and is rarely seen using her arms or fists when fighting, unlike Knuckles. When in battle, Rouge primarily fights her opponents by using a large number of skillful and specialized kicks to strike blows. Using her agility in line with her training, Rouge can perform moves such as high kicks, sidekicks, spinning kicks etc. striking her opponents with deadly precision and efficiency, and can even send her whole body spinning through the air with her feet first, turning herself into an all-piercing spear. Rouge can also complement her fighting style with her flight abilities, allowing her to take her fighting techniques to airborne opponents and allowing her to launch aerial kicks and strikes at her opponents. Most of Rouge's standard moves and techniques revolves around her Kick Attack move where she attacks her opponents with combos composed of kicks. Her special attack Screw Kick enables her to form a "screw" shape into midair while kicking, while her Drill Drive lets her send herself downward, with her feet first, as a spinning drill that pierces through her opponents. Also, her Hip Drop lets her drop onto the ground to form wide tremors that affect everything within its range. When not attacking her opponents directly, Rouge has also been known to use techniques that involve some form of weapon. In Sonic Heroes she is shown to use Dummy Rings in her "Dummy Ring Bomb" move to paralyze opponents, and in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), she used her "Bomb" and "Bomb Snipe" techniques with her Heart Bombs to damage her opponents. Relationships Allies *Team Dark **Shadow the Hedgehog (close friend) **E-123 Omega (close friend) **E-10000B (formerly) *Team Sonic **Knuckles the Echidna (also a rival and secret love interest) **Sonic the Hedgehog **Miles "Tails" Prower *Team Rose **Amy Rose (rival) **Cream the Rabbit **Cheese **Big the Cat *Chaotix **Espio the Chameleon **Charmy Bee **Vector the Crocodile *Silver the Hedgehog *Emerl *Shade the Echidna *Avatar *Cosmo the Seedrian Rivals *Knuckles the Echidna (friendly/formerly arch rival) *Wave the Swallow *Amy Rose *Vector the Crocodile Enemies *Eggman Empire **Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik **Metal Sonic **Orbot **Cubot *Black Doom *Solaris *Mephiles the Dark *Eggman Nega *Imperator Ix *Time Eater *Biolizard *Infinite *Replicas **Replica Chaos **Replica Metal Sonic **Replica Shadow **Replica Zavok **Replica Rouge **Replica Omega Theme songs The Sonic the Hedgehog videogames have featured several theme songs for the character. *''Sonic Adventure 2'': "Fly in the Freedom" - Tabitha Fair, Todd Cooper. *''Sonic Heroes'': "This Machine" - Julien-K. This was a team theme shared with Shadow and Omega. The background music for the stage Security Hall (titled "I'm a Spy") in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle is generally attributed to Rouge, despite technically having no relation to her. Like most characters, Rouge is associated with a genre of music, specifically smooth jazz/bossa nova/fusion with some feminine sighs thrown in (similarly to how Knuckles is associated with the rap genre). It is interesting to note that the background music in her Club Rouge stage from Sonic Battle also has feminine sighing. No other BGM in the game has any form of vocal. Cultural impact Promotion and Merchandising Rouge has been featured in many advertising campaigns and advertising for the Sonic the Hedgehog series in North America and Japan. At the launch of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, Rouge and a few other characters were featured in a line of plushes advertising the game. Another Rouge plush was released as a prize for crane games in Japan at the launch of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. As a campaign for the Sonic X anime in North America and Japan, keychains were distributed for the main characters in the show, one of whom was Rouge. Sega and McDonalds released a series of LCD Sonic Themed Games at McDonald's in 2004, the games were bundled with Happy Meals. Rouge was featured in the game Amy & Rouge Volleyball in which, "Players are challenged to move Amy from side to side to return Rouge's serves and volleys.". Critical reception Upon Rouge's introduction in Sonic Adventure 2, many game reviewers commented on her similarity to Knuckles, including such critical remarks as "Knuckles with bat wings and breasts", whilst some further criticized her design. Her "daring attitude" and narcissism received further comment. Rouge appeared on GamerRadar's list of "The Sexy Lady Beasts of Gaming", in which she is described as "Proof that voluptuous curves, thigh-boots, sexy eyes and rubber gloves can make any animal in the kingdom an object of lustful perverted desire. No matter how freaky-looking their real-world inspiration might be.". Despite some criticism, Rouge has also been seen in a more positive light as well, with some fans of the series seeing her as the "Jessica Rabbit" of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Quotes }} Replica Quotes Theme Sample Gallery Images Rouge the Bat.png Sonicchannel_rouge_nocircle.png 500px-Sonic Riders.png Rouge_the_Bat (dark brotherhood).png Rouge_Sonic_X.png|Rouge as she appears in Sonic X. Rouge Heroes Art.jpg|Rouge in Sonic Heroes. Rouge the Bat-0.png 241px-Rouge 17.png Rouge_2017.png ArchieRouge.png|Rouge in the Archie Comics. IDWRouge.png|Rouge from the IDW Sonic comics. Rouge and Knuckles.png|Rouge and Knuckles Trivia *Mainly because both have an obsession for jewels, both wear black suits (though Rouge wears a pink heart-shaped breastplate), having white-colored gloves and boots to match their hair (Black Cat)/Fur (Rouge), and both have a secret crush on a red-colored hero (Spider-Man for Black Cat; Knuckles the Echidna for Rouge). *In Sonic X, Rouge regularly uses the move, "Screw Kick", which allows her to spin like a top while kicking, like that from Sonic Adventure 2. In the 4Kids dub, she says "Screw Kick" in Episode 44, like in the Japanese version, but in other episodes, she merely just yells or grunts. *Rouge's theme song, "Mysterious and Sexy Thief Rouge" was first heard in Episode 11 which is basically a saxophone solo that usually plays when Rouge appears. *Prima's Game Guide for Sonic the Hedgehog ''(2006) states that there are rumors that Rouge has feelings for both Shadow and Knuckles. It also erroneously says above that in Omega's back history that it was his rampage that unleashed Rouge from Eggman's base. *In ''Sonic Riders, Rouge has blue eye shadow on the character select screen and in gameplay but when you see her icon on the race results screen she has pink eye shadow on, very similar to the eye shadow in Sonic Heroes. *Rouge may have been named after the jewel, the Rouge, relating to her jewel obsession. Her name could also come from a type of makeup applied to the cheeks (also called "blush"). **Her name is also a pun on the capital of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, due to her first name being Rouge and her being a bat. Her name also means "red" in French, possibly named after Knuckles' color. *Although she told Knuckles at the end of Sonic Adventure 2 that she was done with jewelry, she is still hopelessly obsessed with jewels in later games. *Not counting team members in the support class, Rouge has the least team POW moves in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, with only one. **Also, Rouge is the only character with an Armor-Piercing move that hits all onscreen enemies instead of targeting one enemy. She is the second member of the Shifter class, and the only Shifter class member in Team Dark (Shadow and Omega are both in the Power class). *In Sonic Heroes, while selecting Shadow or Omega to be Team Dark's leader, if you use the first-person camera to look at Rouge, she will occasionally turn her head in the player's direction and wink. *In Sonic Riders and Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Rouge does not have her lipstick on. *Rouge and some other characters have a few locations named after them in Empire City, as seen on the street signs of the level's day time stages in Sonic Unleashed. *At one point in Sonic Battle while Rouge was around, Sonic says, "I smell perfume. Maybe Rouge is around.". This might mean that Rouge wears perfume, or Sonic was only making a joke. *Sonic Riders and its sequels are the only times Rouge appears without a heart design on her clothing. *After Sonic Battle, Rouge's design changed a bit her wings become less detailed and only one color and her blue eye shadow got darker after Sonic Adventure 2 *''Sonic Heroes'' is the only game where Rouge has pink eyelids. **However, when Chaos Inferno is done, her eyelids are violet. *In Sonic X, scenes with Rouge often were accompanied by a saxophone solo. *In Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge's outfit appears to be a purple/lavender color in game, but the concept art from the game has the outfit in its regular black color. *As of date, Rouge has never appeared in any Sonic game without Shadow appearing in the same game, cameo or not. *In the Sonic Riders trilogy, Rouge's breasts are shrunken down. *In Sonic Generations when spoken to Rouge after receiving a few Red Star Rings, Rouge will tell the player that she's looking for "Teal Star Rings". *In her alternate outfit model in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle her mid-driff shows her navel. However, in Sonic Riders onwards it isn't present. It is also true that Sonic characters do not have a navel (such as Wave and Tikal). *In Sonic Adventure 2, Rouge had fangs, but afterwards, they have been absent. This is also the case with Sonic (who seemed to have fangs in Sonic Adventure) and Knuckles (unlike the other two, Knuckles' fangs still appear every few games). *Despite being referred to as a "white" bat, Rouge only has fur on her head, while being completely hairless everywhere else. *One of Rouge's unused lines ("Pleasure before business!") from Sonic Adventure 2, is used in one episode of the anime, Sonic X. See also * . 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